Ginger Relieves Muscle Pain

Ginger has been a key ingredient in Chinese herbal remedies for generations. Often consumed as ginger tea, the flavorsome root can be used to treat an upset stomach, and even bouts of nausea.

But a new study suggests that ginger may also possess effective pain relieving properties.

Eat Ginger For Natural Pain Relief

The study, conducted by a team of researchers at Georgia College and State University, found that a daily dose of ginger helped to reduced muscle pain – due to exercise-induced injury – by up to 25 percent.

In two separate experiments which tested the ‘effects of two grams of raw or heat-treated ginger in supplement form on muscle pain caused by exercise in 74 healthy adults. ‘

In the study the participants were asked perform sets of rigorous exercises known to induce muscle pain, over a period of 11 days.

During this time they were administered either the ginger supplement, or a placebo pill.

While some studies suggested that ginger should be heated to enhance the effects, the study actually found that heated ginger was less effective. The results found that raw ginger reduced pain by 25%, compared to heated ginger which gave a 23% reduction in pain.

Researchers noted that previous studies in animals found that ginger had considerable anti-inflammatory properties, which may help to explain why it helps to reduce muscle pain.